Federal Gov’t Suspends Council Meeting Over LG Crisis In Osun

The planned meeting of the National Council for Art, Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy, which was set to take place in Osun State from February 25 to 27, 2025, has been postponed due to escalating political tensions in the state over the ongoing local government leadership crisis.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced the postponement, attributing the decision to the unrest caused by the local government elections and political disputes in the region. The Minister communicated the shift in an internal memo, addressed to state commissioners, directors of MDAs, heads of departments/units, and other key stakeholders.

The memo, titled ‘Urgent Action Against Hosting of National Council for Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy from 24-27 February 2025, in Osun State’, stated that the meeting could no longer proceed as scheduled due to the volatile situation in the state. The ministry acknowledged the inconvenience caused and assured that a new date for the meeting would be communicated soon.

The memo further emphasized that all concerned parties should take note of the change in schedule and help disseminate the information widely.

The political instability in Osun State stemmed from a contentious local government election process, where the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secured victories in all 30 chairmanship seats and 332 councillorship positions. The announcement was made by the Chairman of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission, Hashim Abioye, on Saturday, February 22.

Tensions have been heightened due to a recent legal development—the February 10, 2025 ruling of an Appeal Court, which has sparked a clash over the legitimacy of local government officials elected under the previous administration of Governor Gboyega Oyetola. Although the newly elected local government chairpersons were inaugurated by Governor Ademola Adeleke, he directed them to avoid the council secretariats until the ongoing judicial processes are concluded. This was to avoid any potential clashes or further aggravation of the political crisis.

Governor Adeleke also emphasized the importance of good governance and cautioned against any attempts to forcibly take control of the council offices during this period of dispute.